VICIOUS BY V.E. SCHWAB: BOOK REVIEW

A masterful, twisted tale of ambition, jealousy, betrayal, and superpowers, set in a near-future world.

Victor and Eli started out as college roommates—brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge—but who will be left alive at the end?

In Vicious, V. E. Schwab brings to life a gritty comic-book-style world in vivid prose: a world where gaining superpowers doesn’t automatically lead to heroism, and a time when allegiances are called into question. (Goodreads)

Review:

MORE! I sure hope this is the beginning of a new series. It’s a wonderful story, well written with some substance to the characters and interesting twists within the story line.

The first page sucks you in leaving you wanting to know what’s going on. The story is set up going back and forth in time. After the grab from the first page, it seems to slow down and you need to have the mindset of the going back and forth. Stick with it, because it’s totally worth it.

This story has subtle hints of flavor from X-men, the movie Flatliners, George R.R. Martin’s Wildcard series and the Mutant X tv show and yet still has it’s own unique take in this fabulous genre.

My favorite line and something that is intricately woven throughout the story making you wonder who is the hero and who is the villain.

“If Eli really was a hero, and Victor meant to stop him, did that make him a villain?”

And …

“When no one understands, that’s usually a good sign that you’re wrong.”